Hounded by Destiny
by Ellcrys
Summary: Why wasn't Yuber confronted by his rival, Pesmerga, during the fight against Fire Bringer? Perhaps, unbeknownst to everyone, Pesmerga was there all along...
1. Part I

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**Disclaimer:** I'm sorry, Konami. I couldn't help myself. 

**Notes:** ...It could happen! (Farce, or disturbing truth? You decide!) 

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**Hounded by Destiny  
Part I**

A faint glimmer of light was all that gave away their arrival, and none who were awake were close enough to see it through the trees by the stable. A horse whickered softly, switched its tail, and returned to drinking - and that was that. 

The young woman, the only female among the small group, glanced at her master nervously. The four of them were taking quite a risk by teleporting into Fire Bringer's headquarters directly, and she'd have been much less concerned if they'd left at least one behind. Preferably Master Luc himself, since he was by far the most important, but she would do whatever he asked of her... and he had asked that she bring them here. 

As for Luc himself, he didn't look concerned - only a bit disgusted, as he wrinkled his nose at the smell of horse. "Let's get on with this, shall we? I'd rather not stay among this smell any longer than we have to." 

Albert's expression was neutral, as always. "There were lights on the ship," he explained, "the little girl keeps watch at the gate, and it simply would not be a good idea to materialize in the middle of their courtyard. This was an out of the way place that would almost certainly not be closely watched." 

"I could have dealt with the little girl before she saw us," the fourth member of their party stated, flexing his fingers as if the thought appealed to him greatly. Sarah bit her lip - she did not like the demon at all, and wished that Luc could have sent him away. But again, if it was what Master Luc wanted, she would put up with him. 

Luc frowned at the words himself, however. "A little girl would not be worth your time or effort, Yuber, even if I would permit such a thing." 

Yuber's lips curled into a faint smile at the word "permit" - Luc had no authority over him, in truth, and they all knew it. "Really? I believe she would be remarkably worth both the time and effort - both of which are precisely nil." 

Luc had already turned away, looking up the hill towards the rundown manor that the new Flame Champion insisted upon calling a castle. "Albert, where does the so-called Champion stay? I would assume in the castle, in the best room..." 

"As uncomfortable an arrangement as it is for a Grasslander boy, that's what my reports indicate," Albert agreed. "A room on the second floor, in the northeast corner. It's guarded, of course - not by guards in earnest, but those among his friends who have volunteered to stand watch." 

Sarah glanced at Yuber, expecting some sort of sickening bloodthirsty comment at the prospect of killing the Flame Champion's friends, but the demon remained silent as they stepped out from among the shadows of the trees. In fact, in the soft moonlight, he looked almost preoccupied. Although it was strange, Sarah didn't mind in the least. 

Almost immediately, she tensed. "Wait," she cautioned them. "Something doesn't feel right." 

"What is it - is someone coming?" Luc asked. 

She shook her head, closing her eyes to concentrate. "No, it's... it's as if someone is watching... but... strange." 

The resulting silence was broken by the click of Yuber's swords dropping into his grasp, and Sarah opened her eyes in surprise. Normally he didn't show his swords until he was ready to fight. 

Luc also seemed a bit surprised by the sudden action. "Yuber?" 

"I sense it too," Yuber muttered, his unnatural eyes narrowed suspiciously. 

That was a bit unusual, but Yuber never did speak much about what abilities he might have - and it was said that he had a true rune, although he'd never shown them its power. Sarah didn't think much upon it, but closed her eyes again to focus. "...Whoever is watching," she said finally, "is... not human." 

"Hostile?" Albert asked. 

Before Sarah could answer, a ferocious growl came from the shadows. Opening her eyes with a gasp, she swung her staff around as the rest of the party adopted battle positions. "Light, Sarah," Luc ordered her, staring into the darkness beneath the trees. 

With a nod, she gathered her magic to illuminate the end of her staff, and found that its glow illuminated only a moderately sized black dog with white markings, which waited several paces down the path towards the castle, wearing a dark blue bandanna around its neck. It might have been rather cute under other circumstances, Sarah thought, but now its ears were laid back and its teeth bared, clearly telling them that they were not welcome. 

"Hostile and inhuman..." Albert's slightly snide remark rose above the growling as he, Luc, and Sarah relaxed. "Even so, I suppose he'll be no trouble." 

Everyone's eyes went to Yuber, fully expecting him to step in and take care of the small obstacle. To their surprise, he looked no less intense as he had before the light had shown what their opponent was. "...Sarah," he muttered, his eyes still fixed on the dog. "Get us out of here, now." 

Her jaw dropped. "But..." 

"Now!" he demanded, bringing his two swords up to a battle-ready position as the dog began to bark. 

Sarah looked to Luc, completely confused, and he nodded towards the manor, where a light had suddenly come on in a window. His word was law for her, and so she gathered the energy as requested, causing the ground to glow, and the glow to ripple beneath them. 

"Now!" Yuber repeated insistently, as the dog crouched, as if to leap. 

Sarah obeyed, and the ground gave way beneath them as they were pulled through the void. 

They resurfaced some distance away, in the middle of the plains to the east. As the residual glow faded away, Albert relaxed. "A pity. We could have made it in if the dog hadn't raised a fuss." He glanced over to Yuber, and Sarah knew what he must be thinking - Yuber should have taken the dog out immediately, since he already had his weapons readied. Not that Sarah would have approved, but it would have been the smart thing to do, and what she'd expect from Yuber. 

The demon's eyes were still narrowed, to their surprise - and odder yet, there was an unfamiliar look in them. In anyone else, Sarah would have thought it was anxiety... but Yuber? What reason would he have to feel anxious? 

Luc noticed it as well. "What is it, Yuber? Why did you tell us to leave? ...Do you have a fear of dogs?" he asked. 

Sarah drew her breath at the mocking remark, even though it was something of a relief to hear Luc make such a snide comment again, as he used to when they were both much younger. She noted that Albert was hiding a smirk behind his hand as well. 

Yuber drew himself up haughtily, and slipped the swords back to their hiding place. "That was no normal dog." 

"Really now..." Luc looked skeptical. "Explain." 

Yuber just shook his head, and as he glanced back over the plains to the lights of Budehuc Castle. "You humans wouldn't understand," he muttered. "If the mission has been aborted for tonight, then we can go, can't we?" 

"The mission's security was compromised for tonight," Luc agreed. "We'll try again some other night - and Albert? Next time, see if your informants can find an out of the way place that doesn't smell like horse dung." His nose wrinkled again at the reminder. "I think I stepped in some..." 

"I'll see what I can do," Albert told him with a cool nod. 

As Sarah made ready to transport them back to their temporary headquarters, she stole another glance at Yuber. He still peered off to the west, his eyes fixed on Budehuc - and as the magical glow of teleportation illuminated him, Sarah became even more certain that the look in his eyes was indeed anxiety. What on earth had Yuber so unnerved over a dog, she wondered? 


	2. Part II

**Hounded by Destiny  
Part II**

"Horse thieves!" 

Cecile's eyebrows shot up inside her helmet and she took off running in the direction of the shout. The quickest route to the stable from her post at the front steps was to simply dash down the hill in front of Budehuc and through the forest to the racetrack, and she did so, ignoring the brush and brambles that slapped at her bare legs beneath her short skirt and tugged at her knit socks. "What happened, Kathy?" she exclaimed, skidding to a halt by the stables and glaring around intensely for the villains who _dared_ come into Budehuc Castle to stir up trouble while Garrison Commander Cecile was on the watch. "Where did they go? I'll make them pay!" 

"Whoa, whoa! Hold on there!" Kathy waved her hands frantically at Cecile. "They're not here now - I didn't see them myself!" 

"I'll follow them!" Cecil declared, setting her jaw and her spear in determination. "How many horses did they get? I'll bring every one back!" 

"Er, none..." 

Cecile paused in mid-rampage. "...None?" 

While she'd been trying to get more information, a few others had come to see what all the fuss was about - Thomas among them. "What's going on out here? I heard someone shout about thieves...?" 

"Horse thieves, Master Thomas!" Cecile explained, turning to face him. "But, um... Kathy says she didn't see them... and they didn't... take any horses?" she pondered, realizing that this didn't add up. 

"My tomatoes are perfectly safe also," Barts chimed in helpfully. 

"That's good to know." Thomas turned back to Kathy. "So what makes you think there were horse thieves?" 

"Footprints - all over the paddock," Kathy explained, gesturing at the dirt. 

Cecile bent down to examine them, and nodded. "Yep! Footprints all over. They're not from Kathy's boots or those metal things Leo wears, either. And they're just walking around," she noted further, following the trail a little bit, "so they're not Kenji... Is there anyone else who comes down here a lot?" she asked, straightening again. 

"Hugo?" Thomas suggested, blushing for some reason. "He rides the horses sometimes..." 

"Hmm..." Cecile bent over again for another look, until her face was only inches from the ground. "No, no... can't be Hugo. There are a few different kinds of footprints here, and one's really small - like a girl's footprint. That's funny..." She straightened again, and gasped as she saw Thomas clutching a handkerchief to his face. "Master Thomas! What happened to your nose?" 

"Er, n-nothing," he mumbled, nearly as red as Barts' tomatoes behind the handkerchief. "Different atmospheric pressure than in the Outlands... y-yes, that's it... Anyhow, I'll ask Kidd to take a look at this - seeing as he's a detective, and all..." 

"And what should I do, Master Thomas?" Cecile hated the thought of someone having gotten past her defenses of the castle - it was about revenge now, as well as safety. "Should I post a guard here, in case they come back?" 

"Er... don't you only have one other guard under your command?" Thomas pointed out. 

"Well..." Cecile traced circles in the dirt with her shoe self-consciously. 

"Hey, don't worry about it." Juan was standing nearby, looking bored. "I sleep right over there in the dojo, so if anyone messes with anything, I'll hear it." 

Cecile had her doubts, and from the look on Thomas' face, so did he. Thomas nodded, however. "Since nothing was taken, and we can't be sure what the intruders' motives might have been, I don't think we need to be too vigilant..." 

"I wonder why they left...?" Kathy pondered. 

A bark sounded from beside the stable suddenly - a very strange bark that they'd nonetheless grown accustomed to over the past few days, since Hugo and his group had brought back the odd stray dog from the Cyndar ruins. 

"Oh, is that why?" Kathy asked, dropping to her knees as Kogoro trotted out to stand proudly in front of her. "You scared them away, Kogoro?" 

The dog bowed its head and wagged its tail. "A-e-i-o-uuuu!" 

"Good doggie!" Cecile laughed and took Kogoro's front paws as he rose up to do the odd little dance he'd already become well-known for among Budehuc's younger residents. "Thomas! Since Kogoro scared away the horse thieves, can I put him on the roster of the castle guard? Maybe I'll ask Jefferson if we can give him a medal, too," she thought out loud, stepping back and forth with Kogoro. 

Thomas laughed softly as well, sticking the handkerchief back in his pocket as he watched the dog and the girl dancing together. "Go ahead, if you like - that is a decision you don't need me to help with, since you're Garrison Commander. You have full authority when it comes to choosing the castle's guard, and I trust your judgment." 

"Thank you, Master Thomas!" 

Juan looked bored rather than amused at their antics, and he yawned. "So if everything's settled down, can I go back to sleep? All the commotion earlier woke me up, and all for nothing." 

"Sure - Castle Guard Kogoro will take care of the watch here!" 

"A-e-i-o-uuu!" Kogoro added, confirming Cecile's statement. 

Juan rolled his eyes as he turned back towards his dojo. "Weird dog." 

As the other castle residents began to drift back to their daily routines, seeing that nothing was wrong after all, Thomas and Kathy paused, watching Cecile play with Kogoro. "He really is a weird dog," Kathy agreed with a puzzled frown. "That bark, and the dancing - and you know, he doesn't eat normal dog food like meat? It's the funniest thing - Mamie's offered him scraps, but he never takes them. Though I saw him go after some miso soup once..." 

"Miso soup?" Thomas repeated. "Hmmm... well, I suppose dogs have different tastes, just like humans..." 

"He doesn't really eat anything else though, as far as I can tell," Kathy pondered. "I never see him sleep, either - he's always walking around here, like he's patrolling the area. Good thing for me and my horses," she chuckled. 

Thomas nodded. "If anything else strange happens, let me know," he offered. "For now, I'll ask Kidd to take a look around - and then I have a meeting to get to. Sorry, but this Fire Bringer business is very time-consuming..." 

"Oh, no problem," Kathy assured him with a wink. "Kogoro's on the job, and he's better than just an ordinary dog, if you ask me. Anytime you want a break, though, come on down and see me - I'll set up a good course for you. Ever done any riding before?" 

"Er... no... Anyhow, thank you..." Thomas rushed off to find Kidd quickly, before Kathy could say anything more intimidating. 

Unbeknownst to any of those present, a dark figure watched from within the trees, and its lips curled in derision. They had no idea what had come the night before, or what had averted it - and they probably never would figure it out, until the moment catastrophe came upon them. Perhaps not even then, if it came as quickly as he supposed it would. 

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_To be continued..._

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End file.
